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FROM IHE ORIGINAL PICTURE BY GILBERT iTUART, 



MEMOIR 



LIFE AND SERVICES 



COLONEL JOHN NIXON 



PREPARED AT THE REQUEST OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE 

RESTORATION OF INDEPENDENCE HALL FOR "THE 

NATIONAL CENTENNIAL COMMEMORATION" OF 

JULY 2, 1776 

AND PRESENTED AT THE MEETING IN INDEPENDENCE CHAMBER. 

SATURDAY JULY 1, lS7fi 



BY 

(UIARLES HENRY HART 



[Reprinted from "The Pennsylvania Magazine of Hibtory and Biography"! 

(1^ 



-v 



PHILADELPHIA 

1877 



7^ 



Miss E L I Z A B E Til XI X (J X 



SOLE SURVIVING PESCENDAN'T OF 



COLO.XKL .TOliX NIXON 



BEAIUXG HIS NAME 



THIS JI E M I R OF HER GRANDFATHER 



Is Instribtii 



WITH AFFECTION AND RESPECT 



TIIK AITIIOK 



INDEPENDENCE HALL. 

PlIILADKI.rillA, OftoljLT 26, IS75. 

To CHAliLES HENRY HAUT, E.sij. 

Sii;: Tliu C'oinniittve on tlie riesturation of LkU'IK'IkIchco Hall have 
resolved to invite the presenee of Ameriran Historians, Biogrn pliers, ami 
Literati at fliat plaee on the seeoml day of July, 187C. They desire that a 
BloLi'aphieal sketeh of every individual, whose memory is assoeiated with 
this Building during the early days of the lie])ublie, may lie prepared and 
de]]osited on that day among the Arehlves of the National MLisenm. 

You arc respectfully reiiuestcd to be present at Indcpenilence Hall on 
the day above nu'iitioncd, and to bring with you a sketch of the life of 

JOHN NIXON; 

or ill case of a preference for another subject, to communicate the fact. It 
is desired that these sketches should not exceed two pages of ibolscaj). 
With gi-eat respect, 

FUAXK M. ETTINCi, 

CjKiiniiiiii <if Co)iniiitli:e. 



COLONEL JOHN XIXON. 

BY CHARLES HENRY HART. 

(Centennial CollectioQ.) 

A\Tien I accepted the invitation, I had the honor of recei\nng 
in October, 1875, from the Committee on the Restoration of 
Independence Hall, to prepare a memoir of the life of John 
Kixon to be presented at the meeting of American literati, 
requested to assemble in Independence Chamber on Jnly 
2, 1876, the centennial anniversary of the adoption of the 
" Resolutions respecting Independency," I was doubtful if I 
should be able to fullil my engagement, so little was known 
of his public services. That he was a merchant highly 
esteemed; the second president of the Bank of Xorth America, 
and had read and proclaimed publicly to the people for the 
first time the Declaration of Independence, were the only 
prominent facts known even to his descendants. It seemed as 
if the limited "two pages of fool's cap" could not be supplied. 
But careful and laborious investigation among published and 
unpublished arehives, revealed incident after incident throwing 
light upon his important career, until at last when the rough 
material was sifted and shaped into its present form, the im- 
probable two pages had been duplicated a dozen times. It is 
presented in its extended size, so that those who come after us 
may bo made fully accpiainted with the life and services of 
one of the country's early and pure patriots. 

John Jv'ixon, who read and proclaimed publicly to the people 
for the first time the Declaration of Independence, was born 
in the city of Philadelphia, in the year 1733. The exact date 
of his birth is uncertain, but on April 17, 1734-35 (0. S.), 
wlicn two years old, he was baptized at Christ Church by the 
rector. His father, Richard Nixon, is believed to have been a 
native of Wexford, County Wexford, Ireland, but if so, when 
he came to this country is unknown. That he was a born 



John Nixon. 

Irisliman has been sought to be established from the fact that 
his sou, the subject of this memoir, was, as will be seen later, 
a member of "The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick," a social 
society formed in 1771, whose prerequisite to membershij) was 
being descended from an Irish parent in the first degree, or to 
have been a native of Ireland, or a descendant of a former 
member ; but, as a mother is a parent as well as a father, she 
might have been the one of Celtic birth and not he. This 
view is strengthened by the i'lu-t that there is an heirloom in 
the family, in the shape of an i ild and very large sea jj 

chest with these initials on tlie top in brass nails, G. S. 
a not uncommon niclbod with the early emigrants ' 

to this countiy for dciKitiug and memorizing the period of 
their departure from their homes, and the arrangement of the 
letters would show that the initial of the surname was "N," 
while "G" and " S" represented respectively the Christian 
names of the emigrant husband and wife. 

The earliest mention we have of Richard Nixon is the record 
of his marriage to Sarah l>o\vles at Christ Church, by the 
Eev. Archibald Cummings, on Jaiuuxry 7, 1727-28 (0. S.). He 
was a prominent merchant and shipper, and in 1738 purchased 
the property on Front Street, below Pine, extending into the 
Delaware Hiver, afterwards known for nearly a century as 
Nixon's "Wliarf. In 1742, ho was chosen a member of the 
Common Council of Philadelphia, which position he continued 
to hold until his death. IVnding the French and Spanish 
War, which was ended Ijy the Peace of Aix La Chapelle, con- 
cluded on the 7th of October, 1748, Franklin urged upon the 
citizens to associate together for the purposes of defence, and 
tAvo regiments of " Associators" were accordingly formed, one 
for the city and the other for the county, which were divided 
into companies, one for each ward and township, and of the 
Dock Ward Company, in the City Regiment, Richard Nixon 
was chosen captain. The Dock Ward at this time was, and 
continued up to the present century, the most important aud 
influential ward in the city. He was a prominent member of 
Christ Protestant Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, and one of 
the vestrymen during the years 1745, 1746, and 1747. He 



John. Nixon. 

liad four children, all (if whom wore liapti/.od there, and three 
of them who died in iiilancy were Imr'u'd in its gnnnid, where 
he liiinself found a resting phu'O also on the Gth of JJeeeniher, 
1749 (O. 8.). Tlis personal property after his decease \\as 
appraised at £20,000, a no inconsiderable sum iu those days. 
His wife survived him many years, dying Jvdy 25, 1785, at 
the ad\'anced ago of eighty years, and was buried at Chi'ist 
Church, where reposed the remains of her husband. 

John Nixon, the only child who survived his father, and 
the subject of this notice, early took a leading iutei'est in 
public affairs. In March, 1756, at the age of twenty-three, 
during the excitement of the French "War, he was chosen by 
a majority of votes of the freemen of Dock Ward, Lieutenant 
of the Dock Ward Company, " in the stead of Mr. Thomas 
Willing, the late lieutenant of said company, who was jileased 
to resign his commission." This company was a sort of home 
guard, and doubtk'ss the same as the one formed in 1747, 
of which his fit her was the tirst captain. lie succeeded to 
the business of his fither, at the old place on Front Street, 
with Xi.Kon's whart' in the rear, adjoining the warehouses of 
AVilling & Morris, the most considerable merchants in the 
l^rovinee or indeed in the colonics. His first transaction of 
which we have any knowledge is one ^vhich, with the light 
of modern ideas, is not calculated to be looked upon with 
favor. We lind him in ^rarch, 1761, with Willing, Morris, & 
Co., and other i)rominent merchants of the city, signing and 
presenting to the Assembly of Pennsylvania, a remonstrance 
to a petition that liad been presented the previous month by 
citizens of Philadelphia against the importation of slaves, and 
in consequence of which a bill had been prepared laying a duty 
of £10 per liead on each negro brought from aln-oad. The 
importers, iu their remonstrance to the bill, represented that 
the province was suflTering great inconvenience for want of 
servants, and "an advantage may be gained l)y the introduc- 
tion of slaves, which will likewise be a means of reducing the 
exorbitant price of labor and in all probabilities bring our 
commodities to their usual prices." The/reprcsent that they 
have "eml)arked in the trade" of importing negroes through 



John Nixon. 

the motives they have mentioned, and that they will labor 
under great hardships by the law taking immediate effect 
without giving them time to countermand their orders. This 
protest, however, had no eftect upon the Quaker House, for 
the law to lay a duty on negroes was passed within two weeks. 

The next important mercantile transaction, however, with 
which we iind him connected, was one of a far different 
character, as it joined him with the destinies of his native 
land in its conflict with the mother country. After much 
agitation in the Colonies over their proposed taxation by 
Great Britain, the fatal Stamp Act v.-as finally passed in 
March, 17(j5, with the provision that it should not go into 
effect until the first of the following ISTovemljer. Meetings 
were held in every town and village in the land, protesting 
against this outrage upon the rights and liberties of the Colo- 
nists as British freemen, and petitions were promptly prepared 
and foi-warded by trusty agents to the home government 
urging its repeal. But it was left for the merchants of the 
land to make the hated act nugatory in its purpose, and the 
first step towards this end was taken by the merchants of 
Philadelphia, who, in public meeting, pledged to each other 
their honors not to receive, sell, or import any goods or mer- 
chandise from Great Britain until the iniquitous Stamp Act 
should be reisealed. This " ISTon-Importation AcxREEMENT," 
bearing date October 25 , 1 765 ,' was subscribed by three hundred 
and seventy-five importers and shop-keepers, and prominent 
among the signatures appears the lai'ge bold one of John 
ISTixoN. 

The story of the repeal of the Stamp Act, and the subse- 
quent imposition of a tax on tea, etc. ; followed by the destruc- 
tion of the tea in Boston harbor, and the Boston Port Bill, 

' Since the preccdinj^ was written, investigationa have shown this flate to 
be an error. The afjfreement itself hears no date, except that placed on it 
in lead pencil by Mr. Thomas Bradford at the age of ninety, and seventy 
years after the event took place. Lately discovered contemporary evidence 
points clearly to November 7, 1765, as the day on which the meeting of 
merchants was held, and these non-importation resolutions agreed to. — Vide 
Mag. Amer. Hist., N. Y., June, 1877. 



John JSixoii. 

are too fiimiliar to permit of repetition here, but tlioy kept 
the Colonies in a state of constant ferment, ;ni(l in no pla(« 
was this more the case than in Phihulelphia, ^s•here in all the 
measures of these trying times John Nixon took an active 
jjart. The inhabitants of Boston, being anxious to know \io\y 
lar tht'j would be sustained by other portions of the Colonies 
in their effort to withstand the tyranny of the British Crown, 
Bent Paul Revere to I'hiladelphia with a eireular letter, dated 
>day 13, 1774, requesting the advice of the citizens of Phila- 
tlelphia upon the bill closing the I'ort of Boston. Imme- 
diately upon its receipt on Alaj' 20th, a town meeting was 
called, and held at the City Tavern, and resoUitions were 
passed appointing a committee of correspondence, with direc- 
tions to answer the letter from Boston, and assure the people 
of that town " that we truly ieel for their unhappy situation, 
and that we consider tliem as suffering in the general cause." 
Of this committee Mr. Xixon was a member, and on the fol- 
lowing day met a portion of the committee, who prcjiared, 
signed, :nid sent " The letter from the Committee of the C'ity 
of Philadelphia to the Committee of the City of Boston,"' 
which contained the key-note of the Revolution in these 
words: "It is not the value of the tax, but the huhfeasible 
right of giving and gmnting our own money {h RKurr from which 
WE CAN NEVKR RECEDE), that is the C|uestion."' 

On tlie 18th of June a meeting of citizens was lield in the 
State TTouse Yard, at which Thomas Willing and John Dick- 
inson presided, when it was ivsolvcd that the Act closing the 
Port of Boston was unconstitutional, and that it was expedient 
to convene a Continental Congress. A committee of corre- 
spondence was appointed, directed to ascertain the sense of 
the people of the province with regard to the appointment of 
deputies to a general Congress, and to institute a subscription 
for the relief of the sufferers in Boston. Mr. Xixon was made 
the third member of this committee, the tlrst and chairman 
being John Dickinson. The authority of the committee being 
doubtful, they recommended that at the next general election 
a new permanent committee should be regularly chosen, which 
was accordingly done, and he was again duly returned. He 



Juhn JS'i.ron. 

was a deputy to the General Conference of tlie Province, 
which met at Carpenter.s" Hall, July 15, 1774, and remained 
in session until the 22d, with Thomas Willing in the chair and 
Charles Thomson for its clerk. The important action of this 
body was the adoption of resolutions condemning in strong 
terms the recent acts of I'arliamcnt, and recommending the 
calliug of a congress of delegates from the different colonies. 
Mr. Nixon was als(_> a delegate to the Convention for the 
Pi'ovinee of Pennsylvania, held at Pliiladelphia from the 23d 
to the 28th of January, 1775, which, among other things, 
unanimously endorsed and approved the conduct and proceed- 
ings of the late Continental Congress — the famous tirst Con- 
gress of September 5, 1774. 

The open strife between the mother country and her 
colonies had now fairly begun, and on the 10th of April, 
1775, the hrst conflict of the Revolution took place at Lexing- 
ton and Concord. It was not until the night of Ajiril 24th 
that the intelligence of these fights reached Philadelphia, and 
the sensation caused by tlie news was intense. A meeting 
was held in the State House Yard, at which it was computed 
that eight thousand peojile were present. One brief resolution 
was passed, in effect that the persons present would " associate 
together to defend with arms" their property, liberty, and lives 
against all attem}»ts to deprive them of their enjoj^ment. The 
committee of correspondence elected the jsrevious autumn be- 
came in this emergency an authority not contemplated at its 
formation. The members entered at once upon the task, and 
desired that all persons having arms should give notice, so 
that they might be disposed of to those wishing them. The 
"Associators" immediately began to enroll themselves into 
companies, and drills were held daily, and sometimes twice in 
the day. The companies were formed into three battalions ; 
and the "■ Third Battalion of Associators," consisting of about 
five hundred men, and known as the " Silk Stockings," was 
officered by John Cadwalader, Colonel ; John Nixon, Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel ; Thomas Mifflin and Samuel Meredith, Majors. 
The first known appearance of these "Associators" in public 
was early in May, wlien the officers met the southern dele- 



John Kixon. 

gates to the Coiitiiicntiil Congress about two miles from town, 
and escorted tlieni into the city. A few days later a similar 
compliment was paid to the delegates from the Eastern States. 
Samuel Curwen, the loyalist, who was in Philadelphia at the 
time, has preserved an account of this reception in his diary, 
lie writes: "The cavalcade appeared first, two or three 
hundred gentlemen on horseback, preceded by the newly 
chosen city military officers, two and two, with drawn swords, 
followed by John Hancock and Samuel Adams in a phaeton 
and pair." The Congress duly met on Tuesday, May 10th, 
and on the loth of June, upon the motion of Thomas John- 
son, Jr., of Maryland, George "Washington was chosen unani- 
mously Commander-m-Chief of the Army raised and to be 
raised, and his first appearance in public in his military 
capacity was made five days later, when upon the commons 
near Centre Square he reviewed the City Associators, number- 
ing about two thousand men. On the following day he set 
out for Cambridge, escorted for some distance by the City 
Troops. 

A "Connnittee of Safety for the Province of Pennsylvania" 
having been appointed by the Assembly in June, 1775, John 
Xixon was made a member on its reorganization, October 20, 
1775, and continued an active and prominent member of the 
body until its dissolution, July 22, 177G, on the formation of 
the Council of Safety with David Rittenhouse at its head, 
and out of the two hundred and fifty-eight meetings which 
were held Ix'tween October 20, 1775, and .July 22, 1776, he is 
recorded as being present at one hundred and ninety-seven. 
Of this Committee of Safety, Franklin was President and 
Robert Morris Vice-President, but, owing to their being 
absent so often from the meetings by reason of other public 
duties, application was made to the Assembly for authority 
to choose a chairman pro fern, at any time when there was a 
quorum, and the president and vice-president absent, which 
was granted, and under this authority Mr. Xixon was chosen 
the first chairman, November 20, and at all subsequent meet- 
ings, when he was present and the president and vice-president 
absent, he was selected to fill the chair. He was Chairman 



John Nixon. 

of the Committee on Accounts, and all onlers for the paj'nient 
of money for public purposes Averc draA\u upon him. In 
May, 1776, upon information being received that the enemy's 
vessels were coming up the Delaware, he was requested by 
the committee to go down to Fort Island and take charge of 
the defences there, and in July, he was placed in command 
of the guard ordered to be kept in the city, which was com- 
posed of four companies, one from each battalion. It was in 
the month of July also that he jierfoi-ined that act which 
entitles him peculiarly to a connnernorative notice in this 
centennial year. 

The resolution for Independence, which had been ofiered in 
Congress on the 7tli of June by Richard Henry Lee, was 
finally adopted on tlrj '2d of July, one hundred years ago, and 
on the following 4lh the reasons for that Independence as 
set forth in Jefferson's immortal Declaration were agreed to. 
On the 5th, which was Friday, Congress passed the following 
resolution : — ■ 

" Resolved, That copies of the Declaration lie sent to the 
several Assemblies, Conventions and Councils of Safety, and 
to the several commanding ofKeers of the Continental Troops, 
that it be proclaimed in each of the United States, and at the 
Head of the Army."' 

A copy of this resolution was sent the next day by the 
President of Congress to the Committee of Safety, whereupon 
it was 

'■'■ Ordered, That the Sheritf of I'liilad'a read or cause to be 
read and prQclaimed at the State House, in the City of PhiLv 
delphia, on Monday the Eighth day of July instant at 12 
O'clock at noon of the same day the Declaration of the Repre- 
sentatives of the ITnited Colonies of America, and that he 
cause all his officers and the Constaldes of the said city to 
attend the reading thereof 

" Ttesobied, That every member of this Committee in or 
near the city be ordered to meet at 12 O'clock on Monday to 
proceed to the State House where the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence is to be proclaimed." 

The chronicler, Christopher Marshall, records a "warm sun- 



John JSixon. 

shiiK' iiionnng" for ]\Iomlay, July the Eiglitli. The Committee 
of Luspectiou met at eleven o'clock in the Hall of the Philo- 
sophical Society on Second Street, and went in a hody to the 
Lodge, where they joined the Committee of Safety. The two 
committees then went in pi'ocession to the State House, where, 
standing on the platform of the observatory which had been 
erected by the American Philosophical Society to observe the 
transit of Venus, June 3, 1769, John ISTixon kead and puo- 
CLAiMED, to a great concourse of people, in a voice clear and 
distinct enough to be heard in the garden of !Mr. Norris's 
house on the east side of Fifth Street, tue Declaration of 
Independence publicly for the first time. It is recorded 
that it was received with heart-felt satisfaction, and that the 
company declared their approval by their repeated huzzas. 
Thomas Dewees was at this time Sheriti'of Philadelphia, and 
as he had the alternative of reading it himself or causing it to 
be read, Mr. Nixon was selected, doubtless from his prominence 
as a citizen and as a member of the Committee of Safety. 
There is now deposited in Independence Hall a broadside copy 
of the Declaration, printed at the time, which was found 
among some papers of .John ISTixon, and is possibly the very 
one from which he read and [iroclaimed it on the eighth of 
July, 1770. 

Towards the close of .July, the Philadelphia Associators 
were called into active service. New Jersey was threatened, 
and the several battalions marched to Amboy in its defence. 
Their service lasted about six weeks, when they returned to 
the city, and remained matil December, when they were called 
for again, this time to serve immediately under the com- 
mander-in-chief. At Washington's suggestion all the Asso- 
ciators of the City and Liberties were formed into one brigade 
under the command of Colonel Cadwalader, whereupon Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Xixon succeeded to the command of the third 
battalion, and on the 10th, the city troops, twelve hundred 
strong, were in full march for Trenton. Washington, in writ- 
ing to the President of Congress from Trenton Falls, under 
date of December 13, 177G, says: "Cadwalader with the 
Philadelphia militia occupies the ground above and below 



John Nixon. 

the mouth of Ncshaminy River as tar down as Bunks' Ferry, 
at which place Colonel Nixon is posted with the Third Bat- 
talion of rhiladelphia." Here Washington directed redoubts 
to be thrown up, and, if the enemy attempted to cross, a stand 
was ordered to be made against them, and on the 22d, he 
issued an order to Cadwalader specifying " Colonel Nixon's 
regiment to continue where it is at Dunks' Ferry." This ferry 
was the important post to guard on the Delaware, as it was 
fordable, and it was the point assigned for the crossing of one 
body of the troops on Christmas night to attack Donop and 
the Hessians near Mount Holly, while Washingtoii crossed 
higher up the river. How, owing to the floating ice at this 
point, only a few officers got across, and how Washington 
took the enemy by surprise and gained a signal victory over 
them without the aid of these troops, are well known to all, 
for with this event is comiectcd one of the much controverted 
points in our history — the disaifection of Joseph E,eed. 

It becomes necessary to advert to this subject in this place 
for the reason that in the controversy which ensued between 
Reed and Cadwalader, and which called forth the celebrated 
pamphlets bearing their names, Colonel Nixon was an actor. 
On page 24 of General Cadwalader's " Reply to General Joseph 
Reed's Remarks,"' ajipcars this certificate:— 

"I do hereby certify that in December, 1776, while the 
militia lay at Bristol, General Reed, to the best of my recol- 
lection and belief, upon my enquiring the news, and what he 
tho't of our affairs in general, said that appearances were very 
gloomy and unfavorable ; — that he was fearful or apprehensive 
the business was nearly settled, or the game almost up, or 
words to that eti'ect. That these sentiments appeared to me 
very extraordinaiy and dangerous, as I conceived, they would, 
at that time, have a very bad tendency, if publicly known to 
be the sentiments of General Reed, who then held an appoint- 
ment in the army of the first consequence. 

JOHN NIXON. 

Philadelphia. 31arch 12, 1783." 

14 



John Nixon. 

That Joseph Eecd at this time (.■onteiniilatcd trau^^frrring 
his allegiance from the Contiueutal Congress to the British 
King the light of historical research leaves no room for doubt. 
On the 1st of January, 1777, the time limited to accept the 
privileges of Howe's proclamation would cx{)ire, and if the 
J3attle of Trenton had proved a defeat to A\ ashington int^tead 
of a brilliant victory, Joseph lieed would have accepted its 
provisions and comiaitted openly the treason he meditated iu 
his heart. It was Washington's success and not Reed's 
unswerving patriotism that saved him. These couclusions at 
least are reached after a careful and diligent examination of 
the subject from all available standpoints. 

The Philadelphia Associators remained with Washington 
until late in January, and took a gallant part in the Cattle 
of Princeton on the second. In a letter written by Reed to 
Thomas Bradford from head-quarters at jNIorristown, dated 
January 24, 1777, he says : " General Cadwalader has conducted 
his command with great honour to himself and the Province, 
all the field otHcers supported their characters, their example 
was followed by the inferior ofBcers and men, so that they 
have returned with the thanks and praises of every general 
officer in the army. * * * It might appear invidious to 
mention names where all have behaved so well, — but Colonel 
[Morgan, Colonel Nixon, Colonel Cox, your old gentleman 
[William Bradford], and Majoi-s Knox and Cowperthwaite, 
certainly ought not to pass unnoticed for their behaviour at 
Princeton." This campaign is the on\y active service in 
which we know the Philadelphia Associators to have been 
engaged, except wintering at Yalley Forge in 1778. 

All means of supplying the army having failed, a new plan 
was established in the spring of 1780 by the formation of an 
institution called "the Bank of Pennsylvania for the purpose 
of supplying the army of the United States with provisions 
for two months." Tlie plan was that each subscriber shoiald 
give his bond to the directors of the bank for such smn as ho 
thought proper, binding himself to the payment thereof in 
specie in case such payment should become necessary to fulfil 
the engagements and discharge the notes or contracts of the 



Joltri Nixon. 

bank. The securities thus given by ninety-three person;} 
amounted to £315,000, Pennsylvania money, Eobert Morris 
and Blair McClanachan being the largest contributors at 
£10,000 each, while John Nixon and many others subscribed 
each £5000. The bank was opened July 17, 1780, in Front 
Street, two doors above Walnut, and was governed by two 
directors and five inspectors ; the first director being John 
Nixon and the second George Clymer. The entire amount 
secured was called for, and the last instalment was paid in 
November. In ISIay of the following year Robert Morris, 
then Superintendent of Finance, submitted to Congress "A 
Plan for establishing a National Bank for the United States of 
North America," and on tlie 31st of December, "The President, 
Directors, and Corporation of the Bank of North America" 
were incorporated. This was the first incorporated bank in 
the United States ; and it is of interest in this connection and 
may not be generally known, that for this reason, when the 
National Banking Act of February 25, 1863, went into opera- 
tion, which provided that all organized banks accepting its 
provisions should adopt the word " National" in their title, 
the Bank of North America was permitted specially to accept 
the provisions of the Act without changing its original title, 
so that, although a national bank, its title is simply " The 
Bank of North America." Thomas Willing was the first 
president of this bank ; and upon his appointment to the 
presidency of the Bank of the United States on its formation, 
Mr. Nixon, who had served as a director from January, 1784, 
was elected in January, 1792, to succeed him, and continued 
in the oflice until his death, on the 31st of December, 1808, 
at the age of seventy -six j'cars. 

Mr. Nixon held many positions of public and quasi pulilic 
importance. In January, 17GG, u])on the Assembly of the 
Province passing a lull for the " Eegulation of Pilots plying 
on the River Dela\varc," he was selected with Abel James, 
Robert Morris, and three others to officiate as Wardens of the 
Port of Philadelphia ; and the next year was appointed one 
of the signers of tlie Pennsjivania Pa]ier Money, emitted 
by authority of the Act of May 20, 17i.>7. In November, 



John Nixon. 

177(3, Francis Hopkinson, John Nixou, and John Wharton 
^\•e^e constituted by Congress the Continental Navy Board ; 
and in December, 1778, the Supreme Executive Council of 
the State contirmed John Nixon, John Maxwell Nesbitt, and 
]}onjamin Fuller as a Committee to settle and adjust the 
accounts of the late Committee and Council of Safety ; while 
in August of the following year he was appointed by Congress 
one of the Auditors of Public Accounts, whose chief business 
^va3 to settle and adjust the depreciation of the Continental 
Currency. 

lie was treasurer of the " Society for the Encouragement 
of American Manufactures and the Useful Arts," established 
in 1787, and one of the founders of the " Philadelphia Society 
for the Promotion of Agriculture," formed in February, 1785. 
In 1789, upon the reorganization of the College, now the 
University of Peimsylvania, he was elected one of the Board 
of Trustees ; and in the same year, under the Act of March 
11, 1789, incorporating "The Mayor, Aldermen, and Citizens 
of Philadelphia," he was elected one of the fifteen aldermen, 
to serve for seven years. It must be remembered that the 
position of alderman at that period was very ditferent from 
the ofUce of the same name at the present day. Then it was 
one of honor and not of reproach, and the duties, similar to 
those of the present select council, with certain judicial func- 
tions attached. In tlie grand Federal procession on the 4th 
of July, 1788, celebrating the adoption of the Constitution of 
tlie United States, Mr. Nixon represented Independence " on 
horseback, bearing the staff and cap of Liberty ; under the 
cap a white silk flag, with these words, ' Fourth of July, 
1776,' in large gold letters." 

Mr. Nixon was a man fond of social enjoyment, and as early 
as 1760 was a member of the celebrated Fish House, — "The 
Colony in Schuylkill," and in 1763, we find him one of the 
Mount Regale Fishing Company, which met at Robinson's 
Tavern, Falls of Schujikill, every other Thursday from June 
to October, and was composed wholly of men of wealth 
and fashion — the leaders of Society in that day — as may be 
seen from the names of Shippen, Chew, Hamilton, Francis, 



Jolui Nixon. 

McCall, Lawrence, Swil't, Tilgliman, Allen, Ilopkinson, Will- 
ing, Morris, and Nixon. He was also an original member 
of " The Friendly Sous of St. Patrick" composed of persons 
having Irish hlood, and was present at the famous dinner 
given to Washington on New Year's day, 1782. To the 
Pennsylvania Hospital lie A\'as an early and re[)eatcd con- 
tributor, and served as one of the managers from 1708 to 
1772. 

After the reorganization of the land office in 1792, Mr. 
Nixon purchased lai-gely of lauds in the outlying counties 
of the State which, like most of such adventures, proved 
unsuccessful. At the time of his death, he was the senior 
member of the firm of Nixon, Walker, & Co., shipping mer- 
chants, composed of himself, his only son Ilenry Nixon, and 
i\Ir. Davitf Walker. His residence was on Pine Street below 
Third Street, adjoining that of the Rev. Robert Blackwell, 
Eector of St. Peter's Church, while Fairfield on the Ridge 
Road, immediately north of I'eel Hall the site of the present 
Girard College, was his country seat. Mr. Nixon was married, 
October, 1765, in New York, to Elizabeth, eldest child of 
George and Jane [Currie] Davis, and had five children, four 
daughters and one son ; Mary, wife of Francis West ; Eliza- 
beth, wife of Erick Bollman ; Sarah, wife of William Cra- 
mond ; Jane, wife of Thomas Mayne Willing ; and Henry, 
who married Maria, youngest daughter of the Honorable 
Robert Morris. Mrs. Nixnn died August 31, 1795, at the 
age of fifty-eight, and ^\■as Iniried in St. Peter's Church-yard, 
at the corner of Third and I'ine Streets, Philadelphia, where 
she reposes in the same grave with her husband. 

In appearance, Mr. Nixon was a fine, poi'tly man, with a 
noticeably handsome, open countenance, as may be seen from 
his portrait by Gilbert Stuart, painted late in life, in posses- 
sion of his grandson, Mr. Henry Cramond.' His manners were 
dignified and rather reserved, while he was noted for kindness 
of heart, high sense of honor, sterling integrity, and firmness 

' A miniature painted by Peale in 1772 is iu possessiou ol' Lis grand- 
daughter Miss West. 



John Nixon. 

of decision. In the early days of the revohitionary struggle, 
!Mr. Nixon shared the conservative views of his fellow towns- 
men and copatriots Robert Morris, Thomas Willing, and 
John Dickinson, but after the edict of separation had been 
announced, none were more eager or earnest in the cause, 
lie A\'as a strenuous opponent of the old constitution of the 
State, and a firm adherent of the party formed to effect its 
change. The closing item of his will shows the sentiments 
of the man better than any other words can portray them. 
" Having now my children disposed of my estate in a manner 
that I hope will be agreeable to you all, I request and earnestly 
recommend to you to live together in terms of the purest love 
and most perfect friendship, being fully pursuaded that your 
happiness and that of your respective families will, in a great 
measure, depend on this. These are my last words to you, 
and I trust that you will have them in particular and long 
renicmbraucc.' 



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